The people of Sabah and Sarawak must be patient to wait for natural resources to be extracted and foreign investments to materialise before experiencing the same tempo of development as those in the peninsula.

This was said by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed when fielding questions in a meet and greet session with government retirees and NGOs in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur today.

“In truth, I think that the development of Sabah and Sarawak has outstripped the peninsula. Sarawak has the highest foreign direct investment and Sabah has the largest reserves of petroleum in the country.

“Just be patient and wait for the resources to be extracted and soon your earnings (and development) will increase,” he continued.

He was answering a question from a Sabahan who wondered why after 55 years of voting BN and having contributed a lot to the coalition’s electoral victories, Sabah and Sarawak are still considerably backward in terms of development compared to the frenetic pace seen in the peninsula.

‘Devil’ remark just an analogy

Mahathir also hit out at those who made much ado about his ‘Devil they know” remark.

“Those comments can only come from those who do not understand… It is an English saying.”

He explained that it is an anology that uses the devil to explain that people are often better off depending on someone they are familiar with, rather than trusting an unknown and untested party.

The saying, countered Mahathir, has nothing to do with the devil per se.

He was asked on comments from certain quarters who want him to recant his words and repent to God for talking about associating with the devil – Malaysiakini